Fidelity Investments will layoff about 400 employees from its regional office in Covington – the second Northern Kentucky company to announce it is cutting a large number of jobs in recent months.

Fidelity plans to outsource its printing and mailing services to a third-party provider, and layoffs will occur over the next year to 18 months, spokeswoman Tara Peak said Wednesday.

"It's not a cost-driving initiative," Peak said. "The decision to outsource the print and mail work is driven heavily by a continued increase in electronic delivery trends and customers' growing preference to receive information electronically."

Fidelity's decision comes two months after Toyota announced it is closing its Erlanger headquarters and moving nearly 1,600 jobs to Texas and Michigan.

"This one is a little bit different than Toyota," said Trey Grayson, president and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. "Fidelity remains very much committed to Northern Kentucky for the long-run."

Boston-based Fidelity has more than 4,000 employees at its Covington campus, among the company's largest regional offices. The company has no other immediate plans to reduce its workforce in Northern Kentucky.

"We could never predict the future, but Fidelity's commitment to the region will continue to be very, very strong," Peak said.

Fidelity is among only a handful of Northern Kentucky companies that is regularly engaged with the Cincinnati business community. Fidelity Vice President Kevin Canafax is a member of the the high-powered Cincinnati Business Committee and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's executive committee.

It is uncertain where Fidelity's third-party provider, global corporate solutions firm Broadridge, will fill its new jobs, but it almost certainly will not be in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region, Peak said. Fidelity also plans to cut similar jobs at its Grapevine, Texas, regional office.

Covington employees were informed in a letter Tuesday. Employees will receive a severance package, Peak said.

The job cuts will reduce Covington's annual tax base by $441,000, according to the city. Covington has been hit hard with other major jobs losses in recent years. A.C. Nielsen and Omnicare left Covington and took 850 jobs to downtown Cincinnati, both aggressively recruited across the Ohio River by Gov. John Kasich after he took office in 2011.

But Covington officials say the news hasn't been all bad. The city and Kenton County fought hard to keep upstart technology company TiER1 Performance Solutions, which signed a 10-year lease at the RiverCenter office complex in 2012. The company, which helps clients train and educate employees in various industries, planned to add 340 new jobs over the decade.

Covington also has recently welcomed new entrepreneurs assisted by startup incubators UpTech and bioLOGIC.

City officials point out that United Recovery Systems, a collection agency, currently is looking to fill 100 new jobs, with salaries ranging from $30,000 to $100,000 annually.

"The city is bullish on (its) future," said Naashom Marx, Covington's business development manager. "Our pipeline is full of potential opportunities with a high concentration in technology entrepreneurship businesses – and there is some real potential growth to be had in the next year. We're lucky to have a lot of rainmakers based in Covington focusing on these sectors." •